Self-sealing ice bag



June 25, 1957 R. J. GAZELLE SELF-SEALING ICE BAG Filed Aug. 19. 1954 IN V EN TOR.

5 I7/ BY Roll/74w J. GAZELLE.

Arron/(5).

United States Patent SELF-SEALING ICE BAG Rolland J. Gazelle, New York, N. Y., assignor of one-half to Walter T. Anderson, Detroit, Mich. Application August 19, 1954, Serial No. 450,935

1 Claim. (Cl. so-2.3)

s'truct a self-sealing ice bag of plastic material, prefe'rably compartmented together with a plastic self-sealing zipper for hermetically sealing the inlet to the chamber or chambers.

These and other objects will be seenin the following specification and claim in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present ice bag as it might be used.

Fig. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the present ice bag when unfilled illustrating the similarly shaped insulating strip, and with the straps broken away.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

It will be understood that the above drawing illustrates merely a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claim hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing, the present self-sealing ice bag is generally designated at 11 in Fig. 1 as it might be mounted upon the users forehead for alleviating headaches, such as migraine headaches. Said ice bag includes a pair of spaced compartmented elements generally indicated at 12 and 13 separated along the vertical line 14, which compartments have elongated inlet openings at their upper ends, which are closed and sealed by the self sealing plastic zippers or closure elements generally indicated at 15 and 16, and hereafter described in greater detail.

Arranged upon opposite sides of the present ice bag there are provided a pair of flexible tying straps 17, whose inner ends are secured to the body of the ice bag asat points 17' shown in Fig. 4.

The present ice bag, as better shown in Fig. 3, consists of a pair of moisture impervious, water-proof sheets 18 and 20, which may be constructed of plastic as in the present preferred embodiment or, on the other hand, constructed of rubber or waterproof material.

Both of the sheets of material 18 and 20 are of substantially similar form in outline and are juxtaposed over each other with substantial portion of their peripheries as at 21, joined together in a conventional manner. This joining is usually accomplished by the application of pressure along the line 21 shown in Fig. 2 or the use of heat and pressure to thereby bond or substantially weld the adjacent peripheral portions of the two sheets to thereby define a container which throughout the unsealed upper portion thereof has defined therein an elongated inlet through which ice cubes may be introduced. 7

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the sheets are in the form of eye goggles, there being the inverted U-shaped ridge 19 defined in the central lower portion thereof which would normally bridge the users nose if the bag is used upon the forehead and over the eyes.

The second sheet 20 is provided with a certain fullness in view of the folds or gussets 22 shown in Fig. 2, to thereby define the ice storage compartments 23 when the two sheets 18 and 20 are peripherally joined together as at 21, within which may be positioned the ice cubes 24 or crushed ice if desired.

The elongated inlet opening upon the upper edge of the present bag is provided With a self-sealing closure which in the preferred embodimentherein is constructed ,of plastic strips, and might be regarded as a self-sealing plastic zipper.

Generally speaking, the .said plastic strips 25 and 28 are arranged in overlapping relation with respect to each other and are, respectively, joined to corresponding portions' or the two strips 18 and 20 as shown in Fig. 3.

The plastic strip 25 is preferably of a slightly heavier material than the flexible sheets 18 and 20, and the said strip 25 is positioned upon theinterior surface of sheet 18 adjacent its upper end and is suitably secured thereto along its edges as at 26 by a suitable bonding process. The plastic strip 25 has formed in its exterior surface a series of longitudinally extending ridges 27 with intermediate alternate parallel slots, which ridges and slots extend throughout the length of plastic strip 25.

As shown in Fig. 3', the upper edge of sheet 20 adjacent the inlet of the bag does not extend as high as the corresponding edge of sheet 18, so that one edge extends beyond the other. Secured to the upper longitudinal edge of sheet 20 there is provided a complemental plastic sealing strip 28, which also has formed on its inner surface a corresponding series of longitudinally extending inwardly projecting ridges 29 with alternate slots therebetween. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the sealing strip 28 overlaps a portion of sealing strip 25 and that the respective ridges 29 in strip 28 are adapted to cooperatively and snugly nest within the corresponding opposed recesses formed in strip 25. Similarly, the oppositely arranged ridges 27 of strip 25 cooperatively and snugly nest within the opposed recesses in strip 28.

It has been found that constructing strips 25 and 28 of plastic provides a closure element which will upon the application of manual sliding pressure between the two strips effectively seal the same together for hermetically closing oh the interior 23 of said ice bag. The closure line between the two strips 25 and 28 is indicated at 36 in Fig. 2, and at this line the said strips may also be manually separated by manually grasping the upper edge of strip 28 with one hand and holding the corresponding opposing edge of strip 25 with the other hand.

The outer surface of sheet 18 is preferably opaque as r at 30 to render the same non-light reflective and to provide additional comfort to the user, particularly where in some cases of migraine headaches it is desirous of excluding as much light as possible from the eyes.

There is shown in the exploded view of Fig. 2 an insulating strip 31 which is preferably of a fabric material such as cotton, which strip is of substantially the same shape as the sheets 18 and 20, and is adapted to be juxtaposed against the outer surface of sheet 18 to act as an insulating medium for the user and to prevent freezing or too intense coldness or possible frostbite. The strip 31 has formed lower portions 32 corresponding in shape to elements 12 and 13 of said bag. However, the said strip 31 is slightly oversize so as to engage the said strip 18 in slightly overlapped relation such as shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, the central lower portion of strip 31 is undercut as at 33 corresponding .to the. corresponding undercut 19 between elements 12 and 13.

There are formed through the outer portions of strip 31 a pair of upright slots 34 which are adapted to cooperatively receive therethrough the straps .17 for retaining the said insulating strip in the position shown in Fig. 1 when the ice bag is in use. .The outer surfaces of the insulating strip 31 are preferably dark or opaque as generally shown at 35 in Fig. 2 to further prevent light reflection. 7

While the present ice bag may be constructed so as to have a single compartment as desired, nevertheless, in the preferred compartment there is shown a pair of compartments in view of the fact that the bag elements 12 and 13 are separated by the sealing together of the respective strips 18 and 20 along the line 14 shown in Fig. 2 to thereby define the pair of ice compartments shown. It will be noted also that the said seal at 14 extends upwardly and all the way through the plastic sealing strips 15 and 16 so that there is thus provided a pair of inlet openings instead of a single opening and corresponding thereto to a pair of plastic sealing elements.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to the claim which follows for determining the scope thereof.

I claim:

A self-sealing ice bag comprising a pair of formed sheets in juxtaposition with a substantial portion of their peripheries joined together defining a container having an elongated inlet, elongated overlapping plastic strips secured to each of said sheets bounding said inlet, said strips having formed therein elongated parallel spaced outwardly projecting ridges and intermediate elongated slots, with the ridges of one strip interlockingly and snugly posi tioned within the slots of the other strip for hermetically sealing said inlet; such sheets being constructed of a flexible moisture impervious material, one of said sheets having a series of gussets formed therein providing a fullness to thereby define an ice storage chamber between said sheets, a pair of straps secured at their one ends to opposite sides, respectively, of said bag, the free ends of said straps being adapted to be tied together about the human body for supporting the bag in the desired position, the ridges and slots of said plastic strips cooperating upon the application of a compressive manual pressure to form a self-sealing plastic zipper, one of the sheets at said inlet extending beyond the other sheet, one of said sealing strips being secured to and mounted on said one sheet, the other of said strips being secured to the edge of the other sheet and extending thereabove partially overlapping said first strip, the outer surface of one of said sheets being opaque, and a fabric insulating strip shaped similarly to said sheets juxtaposed against the exterior of one of said sheets inoverlapping relation, and having spaced slots therein upon opposite sides to cooperatively receive said straps, said sheets being generally formed in the shape of enlarged eye goggles with the central portions of said sheets sealed together along a line to thereby define a pair of independent ice storage chambers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 699,778 Upham May 13, 1902 1,567,931 Epler Dec. 29, 1925 1,743,244 Shulman Ian. 14, 1930 1,799,064 Rickerd Mar. 31, 1931 2,150,836 Lamb Mar. 14, 1939 2,237,971 Padelford Apr. 8, 1941 2,359,372 Leader Oct. 3, 1944 2,514,750 Dobbs et al. July 11,1950 1,666,466 Sharat Jan. 19, 1954 

